Silk Town Stitchers

A place where members of the Macclesfield and District branch of the Embroiderers' Guild in the UK can show and discuss their work.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Goodbye to all that . . . .

This is my last post on this blog as responsibility for it has now passed to Margaret Steeden. I have moved now to Poole in Dorset so am no longer member of Macclesfield branch. Margaret has set up SilkTownStitchers2 which she will run from her own blogger identity. There are some great pix on it already, so please click on the link above to access it now.Happy stitching everyone. I shall endeavour to convert my new local EG branch to blogging!

Friday, June 01, 2007

Stumpwork and . . .

Nice contrast here with a lovely piece of stumpwork by Dorothy Phillips, which is so precise and controlled . . . . . . and a very free composition by Margaret Waring using the bits you might sweep up from the workroom floor after a busy day stitching - fascinating.

The latter was an exhibit in Celebration of Silk at the Macclesfield Silk Museum.

Kantha workshop with Rubina Porter

Rubina, from the Merseyside RG branch, gave us a great day workshop, showing us how to use a simple running stitch in kantha work. Using 2 layers - silk and a cotton backing, both woven and bought in Bangla Desh, we chose a motif from one of the amazing kanthas Rubina had brought to show us and began stitching it, using rayon threads. She showed us how to do blocks of 3 rows to form an outline, then how to move the next row of stitches on to make the slanting columns and chevrons.Here are our efforts:

And another of Rubina's, all bought, she says, in Bangla Desh, for pennies!

Rubina visits Sreepur Women and Children's Village in Bangla Desh regularly. Please do check out the link and read about this effort to help orphans and disadvantaged women in a culture that is stacked against them. There are great cards to be bought, made by the people there.

Little Moreton Hall - inspired pieces . . .

. . . chosen by members to be part of further exhibiting for a wider audience. Pat Milius' knot garden box, Hilary Fish and Elaine Townsley's strip sampler, and a collection of pincushions made by various members, to a shape based on Elizabethan caps.

The pieces were originally made for 'Embroidery in Trust', exhibitions put on in 3 National Trust properties in the north-west EG region. Work had to be based on something seen at one of the properties.

Friday, March 30, 2007

Something a bit different - patchwork

Dorothy (Palmer) is into patchwork as well as embroidery and has contributed these photos. She made the bag in the first pic for the EG Embroidery in Trust exhibition at Little Moreton Hall last summer. The 'stained glass' technique using black strips to outline the pieces features in this bag and in the quilts.

This bag uses a project that appeared in Stitch magazine involving stitching tucks with space-dyed thread, then stitching across them, pushing them together in alternate directions.

Magic tiles are rather clever. You begin with (here) 12 squares of 9 different fabrics. Piles are made of one of each fabric. Four cuts slice them across, making 9 pieces. These pieces are swapped around and made up into blocks with one piece from each fabric in each block. Look carefully and you'll see Dorothy has varied this a bit, to interesting effect.

Some more paisley blocks . .

. . . which will be on display as part of Celebration of Silk - Competition and Exhibition at the Silk Museum, Park Lane, Macclesfield 7th April 2007 – 12th May 2007 Monday to Saturday 11am – 5pm. Museum Admission Fee Charged.

People keep adding to these embroideries. In May our meeting is another hands-on session where beads and embellishments will be added to any blocks whose makers have not seen enough of them already!

Japanese Folded Patchwork Dayschool

Hooray, the icons are back, so here are some images from the dayschool taught by our branch secretary Julie Eastman earlier this month.

Basically, in this form of patchwork, one shape is folded over another, enclosing some wadding, and stitched down decoratively. Here they have folded a circle over a square. The objective was to make enough squares to join by oversewing to make a bag. The contrast of border and central fabrics and the scope for decorative stitches make this sort of work very 'moreish'. Once constructed the square/block needs no more quilting. But further embroidery, beads etc can be added of course, as desired.

Other combinations of shapes can be used - square over square, circle over hexagon, for example.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

No posts lately because blogger is being awkward - nothing will publish except what I put in the title slot! Apologies to all, please don't give up!

Friday, February 23, 2007

Memories . . .

Following on from the workshop with Carol Stowe, making fabric books, Chris Harris put what she learned to good use and made a memory book about her parents, using photos and other keepsake items to create a record of their lives.